Ski-type bob sled



y 7, -1964 MIGUEL FEU ALSO KNOWN- AS 3,140,099

MIGUEL FEU SERRAHIMA SKI-TYPE BOB SLED Filed June 9, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 WNVENTOR July 7, 1964 MIGUEL FEU ALSO KNOWN As 3,140,099

MIGUEL FEU SERRAHIMA SKI-TYPE BOB SLED Filed June 9, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 72AM k BY 54 1 1 r W ATTORN EYJ July 7, 1964 MIGUEL FEU ALSO KNOWN AS 3,

MIGUEL FEU SERRAHIMA SKI-TYPE BOB SLED Filed June 9, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTOR N E-YJ A M m m Km EB E L Awm HM FEWW U Em M m M July 7, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 9, 1961 ATTORNEYJ United States Patent 3,140,099 SKI-TYPE BOB SLED Miguel Fen, also known as Miguel Feu Serrahima, Barcelona, Spain, assignor to L. Joseph F. Nagode, New York, N.Y. Filed June 9, 1961, Ser. No. 115,983 2 Claims. (Cl. 280-16) The present invention relates to a bob sled and more particularly to a bob sled which comprises either one or two pairs of interconnected skis.

The two skis of a pair are interconnected by a parallelogram linkage for simultaneous pivotal movement about their normally parallel spaced longitudinal axes. The skis may be pivoted in a horizontal plane for steering purposes. The parallelogram linkage is so connected to the operators seat that lateral tilting of the skis may be controlled by a shifting of the body weight of the operator from side to side. This arrangement gives the sled an unusually high degree of maneuverability.

The invention will be more fully understood by a reading of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof.

Referring to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an embodiment of the invention utilizing a single pair of skis.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation, similar to FIG. 1, of another embodiment of the invention which utilizes two pairs of skis.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the arrangement which has two pairs of skis.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment with a single pair of skis.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 1, the parallelogram linkage comprises an upper transverse bar 1 and a lower transverse bar 2. The upper and lower bars 1 and 2 are interconnected at one side of the sled by a vertically extending lateral bar 3 and at the other side by a vertical bar 4. The ends of the bar 3 are connected to one end of each of the transverse bars 1 and 2 by upper and lower pivotal connections 5 and 6, respectively. The ends of the lateral bar 4 are similarly connected to the bars 1 and 2 by pivotal connections 7 and 8. The pivotal connections 5, 6, 7 and 8 permit movement about pivotal axes all of which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bob sled.

A central vertical bar 9 extends between the midpoints of the upper and lower transverse bars 1 and 2, being connected thereto by pivotal connections 27 and 28, respectively. The pivotal axes of connections 27 and 28 are parallel to the pivotal axes of connections 5, 6, 7 and 8.

A horizontal frame member 11 is rigidly secured to the midpoint of vertical bar 9 as indicated at 10 by welding or other suitable means. The forward end of the frame member 11 is supported at the mid-point of a transverse bar 19 by a pivotal connection or bearing 20 which permits rotational movement of the frame member 11 along with the vertical bar 9. The lower end of the upright portion of a saddle support 13 is rigidly secured to the frame member 11 intermediate the ends of the frame member. The upper free end portion of the saddle support 13 extends rearwardly and a saddle 14 is mounted thereon.

The longitudinally extending frame member 11 is flanked by two bifurcated frame members 15 and 16, connected to 3 and 4 at 17 and 18, respectively. The horizontally and forwardly extending terminal portions of the frame members 15 and 16 are journalled in pivotal connections 21 and 22, respectively, which are carried by "Ice the lateral extremities of the transverse bar 19. The downwardly extending portions 23 of the bifurcated frame members 15 and 16 are each separately secured to one ski 25 of a pair of normally parallel skis. The pivotal connections indicated at 24 are described in greater detail below. For the purposes of FIG. 1, however, they may be considered as permitting pivotal movement of the skis 25 about a transverse axis passing through the points 24. Lateral tilting movements of the skis about their longitudinal axes are caused by movements of the parallelogram linkage 1-4. Displacements of the parallelogram linkage 1-4 are produced by shifting the weight of the passenger or rider laterally on the saddle 14 which, in turn, produces rotation of the frame member 11 and a corresponding rotation of the central vertical bar 9 about its midpoint.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the side frame member 15, at its forward end, carries a bearing 24 which permits steering movement of the ski 25. The rotational axis of the bearing 24 is upwardly and rearwardly inclined so that turning of the ski in a horizontal plane is accompanied by a lateral tilting about its longitudinal axis. This tilting is independent of the tilting produced by the saddle 14 through the parallelogram linkage 1-4. The direction of tilting produced by the steering bearing 24 is such that the ski 25 engages the snow to oppose the centrifugal force accompanying the turning movement of the vehicle.

A longitudinally extending horizontal bar 37 is connected at its forward end to the bearing 24. Shock absorbers 34 and 36 are connected to the bar 37. The lower ends of the shock absorbers 34 and 36 are connected to the ski 25 through connectors 35 which permit pivotal movement of each ski 25 about a transverse axis. Steering movement of the ski, which causes the front end of the ski to toe inwardly, may be produced by a stirrup 26 secured to the forward end of horizontal bar 37. Alternatively, steering movement may be produced by means of a hand lever 29 which is rigidly connected to the ski 25 through the lower portions of the connectors 35.

When one ski is toed inwardly for steering, or both skis are toed inwardly for braking, this movement is yieldingly opposed by helical tension springs 32 interconnected by chains 30 and 31. Only one of the springs 32 and chains 30 is visible in FIG. 6. The resilient system 30-32 normally urges rear shock absorber 34 into lateral engagement with a stop or bumper member 33 fixed to the side frame member 15, a similar bumper (not shown) being carried by the other side frame member 16.

Sockets 38 are fixed to the upper linkage bar 1 and to the transverse bar 19. A cover member 40 carries pegs 39 which are received in the sockets 38 so that the cover member 40 may be removed or replaced at will.

Circumferentially grooved cylindrical members 41 are retained in the linkage 1-4. These members 41 are formed of resilient material and yieldingly urge the bars 1, 2 into a perpendicular relationship with respect to the bars 3, 4.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 there is shown a modified embodiment of the invention wherein a pair of front skis 42 and a separate pair of rear skis 43 are provided. The two saddles 64 and 65 are mounted on a common longitudinal frame member 63 which controls the lateral tilting movements of both pairs of skis. The longitudinal frame member 63 extends between the midpoints of two vertical bars 63a and 63b. The upper and lower ends of the rear vertical bar 63b are secured by pivotal connections 67 and 66 to the upper and lower bars 48 and 46, respectively, of the rear parallelogram linkage 46-48-70.

The upper transverse bar of the linkage 46-48-70 is provided at its ends with pivotal connections 50 and 51. The lower bar 46 is provided with pivotal connections 44 and 45 which secure the linkage 46-48-70 to the rear skis 43 so that the rear skis are constrained to tilt simultaneously in a lateral manner about their longitudinal axes while permitting free pivotal movement of each ski about a transverse axis. The stirrups 72 for the rear rider are pivotally connected at 73 to a depending lateral projection from the longitudinal frame member 63. The stirrups 72 are rigidly held against rotational movement with respect to the longitudinal frame member 63 by a suitable system of mechanical connections 71 secured to the lower member 46 of the linkage 464857.

At the front of the sled, there is a parallelogram linkage 55-58 having pivotal axes of connection, 59, 69, 61, 62, akin to -8. Universal joints 69 and 69 control the attitude of linkage 55-58 in accordance with rotational movements of the longitudinal frame member 63. For steering purposes, the forward pair of skis 42 is turned as a unit by a steering wheel 75. The universal joints 69 and 69 permit such movement while at the same time transmitting to the forward pair of skis 42 the tilted attitude which corresponds to that of the front and rear parallelogram linkages 55-58 and 46-48-57. The combined tilting and steering movements are transmitted through suitable articulated joints 53 to the front skis 42 through rearwardly and upwardly inclined members 54 which cause supplementary lateral tilting movements of the front skis 42 to engage the snow in a manner which opposes the centrifugal force accompanying turning of the sled. Stirrups 52 are associated with the front skis as foot rests. A brake 12 is provided for operation by the rear rider.

In FIGURE 3 the numeral 74 designates a wind-shield.

While I have described What I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A sled comprising:

a pair of skis,

parallelogrram linkage means interconnecting said skis,

resilient means acting on said linkage means and yieldingly urging said linkage means toward a predetermined normal attitude,

displacements of said linkage means from said normal attitude causing simultaneous lateral tilting movements of both skis in the same direction and through equal angles in unison about their respective individual longitudinal axes,

saddle means carried by said linkage means for support by said skis,

said tilting movement of said skis being produced by a lateral shifting of the body weight of a rider occupying said saddle means,

pedally actuable steering means for producing angular displacements of said skis in a horizontal plane independently of said lateral tilting movements,

said steering means comprising a pivotal connection between each ski and said linkage means,

the rotational axes of said pivotal connection being upwardly and rearwardly inclined,

said steering means permitting each ski to be individually toed in,

resilient means yieldingly urging said skis into parallel relationship, and stop means preventing toeing out displacements of said skis.

2. A sled comprising:

front and rear pairs of skis,

front parallelogram linkage means connected to said front pair of skis,

rear parallelogram linkage means connected to said rear pair of skis,

a longitudinally extending bar interconnecting said front and rear linkage means,

at least one saddle carried by said bar,

a lateral shifting of the Weight of a rider occupying said saddle producing turning movements of said bar about its longitudinal axis accompanied by simultaneous displacements of said front and rear linkage means,

said displacements of said linkage means causing simultaneous lateral tilting displacements of all of said skis in unison each about its respective individual longitudinal axis,

steering means for turning said front skis as a unit in a horizontal plane,

said steering means comprising a pivotal connection between each ski and said linkage means,

the rotational axes of said pivotal connection being upwardly and rearwardly inclined,

said steering means permitting each ski to be individually toed in,

resilient means yieldingly urging said skis into parallel relationship, and

stop means preventing toeing out displacements of said skis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,358,817 Meehan Sept. 26, 1944 2,589,764 Basso Mar. 18, 1952 2,883,205 Dulski Apr. 21, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 26,319 Austria Nov. 10, 1906 64,503 Austria Apr. 25, 1914 782,190 France Mar. 11, 1935 803,852 France July 20, 1936 986,197 France Mar. 21, 1951 1,074,921 France Apr. 7, 1954 468,149 Italy Dec. 29, 1951 

2. A SLED COMPRISING: FRONT AND REAR PAIRS OF SKIS, FRONT PARALLELOGRAM LINKAGE MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FRONT PAIR OF SKIS, REAR PARALLELOGRAM LINKAGE MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID REAR PAIR OF SKIS, A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING BAR INTERCONNECTING SAID FRONT AND REAR LINKAGE MEANS, AT LEAST ONE SADDLE CARRIED BY SAID BAR, A LATERAL SHIFTING OF THE WEIGHT OF A RIDER OCCUPYING SAID SADDLE PRODUCING TURNING MOVEMENTS OF SAID BAR ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS ACCOMPANIED BY SIMULTANEOUS DISPLACEMENTS OF SAID FRONT AND REAR LINKAGE MEANS, 